Motivations to engage in last chance tourism in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area and Wapusk National Park: the role of place identity and nature relatedness

The threat that climate change impacts pose to rare and vulnerable destinations has given rise to a phenomenon known as last chance tourism. This travel behaviour involves tourists increasingly travelling to destinations they perceive to be critically threatened, while contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts in these very places. For last chance destinations to be managed effectively in the face of climate change, a clearer understanding of what drives this travel behaviour is needed. Drawing on the importance of place and nature to identity construction, this research uses a structural equation modelling approach to examine last chance tourism motivations in Churchill, Canada. Results provide evidence of a motivation to engage in a last chance experience. They also indicate that this motivation is related to a desire to share a connection to nature with similar individuals, and to become part of the local story. Beyond this, results show that visitors' sense of place identity and nature relatedness contribute significantly to their motivation to engage in last chance tourism. Findings from this research are important to the management of last chance destinations, including protected areas that are legislated to preserve significant natural and cultural features.     

Context mapping for creative tourism

The article explores the processes designer-makers and communities should engage in before using service design approaches to produce creative tourism experiences. These processes can yield insights into the inner processes and interactions with external environments of creative individuals and communities. Case studies from Finnish Lapland and Namibia show the importance of identity construction, creativity and storytelling for context mapping. The article presents a practical and flexible mapping tool that has been derived from these case studies. This tool can be expanded and applied by designer-makers for practical mapping activities. The findings indicate that creative tourism involving designer-makers can provide new tourism opportunities that not only generate deeply relevant experiences for tourists but also sustainable livelihoods for local designer-makers.     

Social mediation in remote developing world tourism locations – the significance of social ties between local guides and host communities in sustainable tourism development

This article discusses the role of the local, or regional, guide as a social mediator between a host society and tourists, as a means of sustainable tourism development in developing world locations. The debate illustrates how previous studies have neglected this social aspect of mediation by tourist guides and partly absorbed it into the concept of cultural mediation. Empirical illustrations are offered from the context of small tourist group visitations to local villages in rural areas of Madagascar, where collective social norms still play an important role. A qualitative approach based on personal interviews with guides and on field trip experience and observation is employed. Empirical findings indicate that the inclination of the host society to welcome accompanied tourists is facilitated by the capacity of local guides to develop relatively strong social ties with the host society. It is suggested that the increased use of local guides with good social relationships with the local communities as against the mere employment of non-local accompanying guides working for centrally located tour operators can enrich the mutual experience quality in the encounter between visitors and hosts and support local sustainable development by enhanced local involvement. Implications for sustainable tourism practice are discussed.     

Successful action in the public sphere: the case of a sustainable tourism-led community protest against coal seam gas mining in Australia

As demand for resources grows, there is increased pressure on the places and communities in which sustainable tourism is situated. This research examined the experience of an academic and a sustainable tourism business operator who were engaged in a community protest against coal seam gas mining in Queensland, Australia. Our research used a co-constructed narrative method and a post-ecological democratic framework to understand the significance of the public-sphere action of the tourism business. Our findings reveal that sustainable tourism organisations can link with the local community to be effective in public-sphere protest because of their social relationships within communities. The tourism business engagement in the public sphere was characterised by an increase in the locus of control of the business in responding to environmental threats, reconceptualising “the environment” as a valued local place worth fighting for, and tactics that ensured the campaign was not subsumed and devalued within government administrative processes. We found that if the value basis for public-sphere action aligns with the business model, tourism businesses can engage in public-sphere action with no financial loss. Protest actions by sustainable tourism business operators can be part of a deeper sustainability movement through protest actions in the public sphere.     

旅游地意象、地方依恋与旅游者环境责任行为——以浙江省旅游度假区为例

文章综合旅游地意象、地方依恋及环境责任行为理论,将旅游地意象分为5个要素,将地方依恋分为2个要素,并构建了旅游地意象、地方依恋与旅游者环境责任行为之间的关系模型。研究发现:(1)景观意象、设施意象、服务意象及安全意象均直接影响情感意象。设施意象与服务意象不仅直接影响地方依赖,且通过情感意象来实现。安全意象和景观意象间接影响地方依赖。安全意象、服务意象及景观意象不仅直接影响地方认同,且通过地方依赖来实现。设施意象间接影响地方认同。服务意象不仅直接影响旅游者环境责任行为,且通过地方依恋来实现。景观意象、设施意象及安全意象间接影响旅游者环境责任行为。(2)情感意象直接影响地方依赖,间接影响地方认同与旅游者环境责任行为。(3)地方依赖直接影响地方认同和旅游者环境责任行为,且通过地方认同间接影响旅游者环境责任行为。     

Environmental orientations and environmental behaviour: Perceptions of protected area tourism stakeholders

There are numerous studies in the academic literature which assert that environmental attitudes can influence the process of sustainable tourism in protected areas. To test this claim, this research was undertaken in Central Karakoram National Park, Pakistan. The purpose of the research was to examine the differences in environmental orientations of four stakeholder groups associated with protected area tourism and to determine the factors that might influence their intentions to engage in environmentally responsible behaviour. The New Ecological Paradigm scale was used to assess environmental orientations. In addition, interviews were conducted to examine the factors that impacted these orientations. The results show significant differences among the stakeholders' orientations towards the environment and multiple factors that influence stakeholders' intention to engage in environmental conservation and sustainable tourism, namely economic benefits, awareness and information, top down governance and resource use rights.     

Tourism in Small Island States: From Vulnerability to Strengths

This article argues that the narrow and frequently negative conceptualisations of small island states as environmentally vulnerable and economically dependent are problematic for sustainable tourism development and for economic development, generally. Scenarios presented to date are often incomplete. Narratives suggesting that island peoples are unskilled and lack resources, and that their islands are ‘tiny’ and ‘fragile’, can undermine their pride and stifle their initiative, reducing their ability to act with autonomy to determine and achieve their own developmental goals. A range of more positive conceptualisations is given, demonstrating the strong social dimensions of sustainability in small island states and the resilience and adaptability of island states. Examples describe a number of positive development paths to sustainable tourism in small island states.     

Nature-based Tourism and Environmental Sustainability in South Africa

Assessments of environmental factors contributing to sustainable tourism are described in relation to four photographic wildlife tourism enterprises in South Africa. A series of qualitative and quantitative results are presented to demonstrate how nature-based tourism enterprises in protected areas address their environmental impacts. Field-based evaluations and interviews with local community members show how a new Sustainable Nature-based Tourism Assessment Toolkit (SUNTAT) was used to evaluate enterprise performance. Motivations underlying environmentally responsible activities undertaken by private- and public-sector enterprises are described, in addition to their limitations and constraints. Conclusions are made regarding the need for environmentally responsible activities to utilise commercially appropriate best practice, and to consider both the local level and neighbouring livelihood strategies.     

Managing tourism and cultural heritage in historic towns: examples from Romania

Due to the impressive development of the cultural heritage tourism, there is an increasing need to investigate the relationship between tourism and cultural heritage management, in order to avoid conflicts that may occur from parallel, independent development of these activities. At present the Romanian historic towns face an increasing process of fast tourism development within many rehabilitation projects that take place on historic monuments. Assessing their tourism potential in a realistic way may help in developing sustainable tourism at cultural destinations. In this context, the assessment matrix method proposed by McKercher and du Cros is applied to 10 case studies of Romanian historic towns, as a first step in tourism development planning. A refinement of this method is proposed by considering the distribution of the qualifiers assigned to the indicators that are being assessed. The matrix method is shown to be a useful tool for a correlated approach to both tourism development and cultural heritage management.     

Intensive tour guide training in regional Australia: an analysis of the Savannah Guides organisation and professional development schools

A number of authors believe that tour guide training may hold a key to passing on the concept of sustainable tourism to tourists. Savannah Guides Limited (SGL) is an organisation for tour guides interpreting and protecting the tropical savannahs of northern Australia. This paper examines the provision of intensive professional development schools, which the SGL organisation provides, to raise standards of professionalism for nature-based tour guides in remote regions. Its framework is based on Schein's three levels of organisational culture model, and Black and Ham's 10-element performance-based tour guide certification programme. Active participant observation of the development school process and a self-administered questionnaire to SGL members were used to understand the organisation's success. The main motivations for tour guiding are explored, as are the ways in which tour guides acquire knowledge. It is suggested that the provision of professional development schools in nature-based tourism regions benefits the guide and the tour guiding industry, and contributes to the protection of the natural environment. It is proposed that the SGL training model of professional development schools and certification be adopted by tour guiding organisations in other regional destinations as a way of nurturing and advancing quality tour guiding and professionalism.     

Experiential places or places of experience? Place identity and place attachment as mechanisms for creating festival environment

Tourism theory suggests mechanisms of place are critical in the construction of tourism environments. However, contradictory place theory has created confusion as to exactly what these mechanisms are and how they affect perceived environment. Literature identifies place attachment and place identity as primary mechanisms in the construction of tourist relationships with tourist environments. An interpretive methodology is used to explore these mechanisms during a festival experience, and thematically analyzed unstructured interviews show identity and attachment do influence attendees' place-based perceptions. Within the festival context, environments become either creations of the festival or exist independently of them. The latter allows realistic place identity to form, resulting in consonance between environmental expectations and reality. The former creates abstract identities resulting in unrealistic expectations and weak/no immediate attachment to the festival environment. A Model of Festival Place provides continuity-based festival recommendations allowing for clearer theoretical and practical understanding across tourism events.     

Bridging the gap: grounded theory method,theory development,and sustainable tourism research

Advancing knowledge on sustainability phenomena can be optimized when theoretical developments and practical applications work in concert rather than in isolation. Bridging the theory–practice gap is particularly important to sustainable tourism, which has risen exponentially in relevance both in practice and research. However, tourism research has been criticized for a lack of endemic theory unique to the field. Grounded theory method (GTM) is an established methodology for generating new theory in substantive areas, and has been utilized to examine various tourism phenomena. Through both methodological and theory development assessments, this study first examines how GTM has been used in tourism research in general. Suggestions for ameliorating the theory development outcomes of GTM research in sustainable tourism are then offered for both researchers and reviewers to help bridge the gap between sustainable tourism research, practice, and theory.     

Book Review

World Heritage Sites (WHSs) are motivated by such diverse reasons as heritage celebration, alarm calls, tourism branding and marketing and place making. Irrespective of the primary motivation for their creation, WHSs are often used to develop tourism based on cultural and natural resources of international significance. Heritage conservation may or may not be in agreement with what local populations perceive as desirable development paths. We conducted a survey among the island community of Vega in Norway that received WHS status in 2004 motivated by conservation alarm, tourism marketing and place making. We examined the local population's views of the key aspects of future development and how this related to WHS status. The islanders placed high value on social and community conditions as well as heritage linked to cultural and natural resources. While a majority supported tourism based on sustainable use of heritage they also felt that WH listing should not limit development opportunities. There were differences between younger people and adults. WHS may be an effective agent of sustainable tourism development if the main goals and strategies of the WHS are clearly understood and prioritized in the local community, leave room and perhaps link to other development opportunities.     

Indicators of Sustainable Tourism in New Zealand: A Local Government Perspective

The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) established a set of core indicators of sustainable tourism in 1995, which were promoted as a useful tool in the operationalisation of sustainable tourism development. Local authorities provide an established framework within which to operationalise the WTO's core indicators of sustainable tourism. This paper examines the extent to which sustainable tourism is reflected in the research practices and attitudes of local authorities within New Zealand. A nationwide survey investigated the importance of tourism, the current status of research and the perceived value of the WTO's core indicators of sustainable tourism within the New Zealand local authority framework (regional councils, territorial local authorities and regional tourism organisations). The importance of tourism within local authority areas was positively correlated with the number of different research activities undertaken.Two main types of research were identified: demand-related and supply-related research. Demand -related research is undertaken within the majority of local authority areas throughout New Zealand. However, supply-related research is under-represented. The WTO's core indicators were generically grouped into economic, planning, social and ecological indicator types. Regional councils showed a preference towards ecological indicators. Territorial local authorities and regional tourism organisations preferred economic and social indicators. The detailed implications are discussed.     

Developing Woodlands for Tourism: Concepts,Connections and Challenges

Driven by potential economic benefits for rural communities, tourism has become an increasingly central focus of sustainable woodland management in Great Britain. Knowledge of the values and uses of woodlands for tourism, and the impacts of woodland management on tourism is, however, limited. This paper outlines qualitative research in three study areas which used in-depth interviews and discussion groups to engage with tourism providers to explore these issues. It argues that woodlands are an important constituent of ‘countryside capital’, with woodlands” imagery and accessibility, and their natural and man-made resources used directly and indirectly by tourism enterprises. A landscape-scale approach to tourism planning and development is advocated to ensure a more holistic use of woodlands for tourism. Critical issues are identified as being strategy and integration, local engagement, sharing of information, resources, costs and benefits between stakeholders, and policies and practices to stimulate innovation and growth.     

Conceptualising a contemporary marketing mix for sustainable tourism

This paper outlines how marketing, though traditionally considered an enemy of sustainability, can play a role in implementing sustainable tourism. It notes the redefinition in 2007 by the American Marketing Association of marketing's aims to consider wider societal issues beyond those of clients and customers. It illustrates how the recognition of the importance of sustainable tourism at all scales of tourism activity provides marketing with an opportunity to pursue sustainability outcomes. We review the strategic tourism marketing planning process and conceptually develop a sustainability tourism marketing model that embeds sustainability considerations at each stage of the planning process. Our proposed model contributes to sustainable tourism theory development and offers a conceptual tool for managing a tourism organisation's ecological and societal footprint on the supply side and a critical opportunity for transforming consumer decision-making on the demand side, irrespective of tourism scale. A 30-cell matrix is proposed that cross-references a strong set of 10 marketing elements (product, price, promotion, place, participants, process, physical evidence, partnership, packaging and programming) against the questions posed by the triple bottom line of economic factors, the environmental and sociocultural concern, creating a check list of indicators for management purposes.     

A Cultural Encounter through Volunteer Tourism: Towards the Ideals of Sustainable Tourism?

International volunteering is increasingly recognised as a form of alternative tourism. However, the nature of the ‘alternative’ experience gained, and the ensuing narrative between host and volunteer, remains under-explored in published research, especially in volunteer tourism research within a cultural context in a developed nation. This paper examines the nexus between volunteer tourism and cultural tourism in the search for alternative and sustainable experiences through tourism. Qualitative research using in-depth interviews, diaries and participant observation was conducted to examine the pre-, during and post-trip experiences of 12 Australian visitors undertaking organised volunteer activities in an indigenous Maori community in the North Island of New Zealand during January 2005. Members of the indigenous Maori community were also interviewed to provide an important host perspective. Findings suggest that the nature of the interaction and cultural experiences gained were perceived as mutually beneficial and seemingly different from those gained from traditional cultural products. In particular, the volunteers experienced an alternative Maori cultural product and engaged in a different narrative with their Maori hosts through their volunteer work, one rich in authentic cultural content, genuine and reflective of modern Maori life in New Zealand society.     

The Place Identity - Performance relationship among tourism entrepreneurs: A structural equation modelling analysis

Drawing on the literature on tourism, entrepreneurship, environmental psychology, and corporate philanthropy, this research examines how place identity, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and support for community influence the entrepreneurial performance of small and medium tourism enterprise (SMTE) owners. Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling are used to analyse the responses from 301 tourism entrepreneurs operating in regional South Australia. The data supports a model suggesting that the place identity of tourism entrepreneurs has a significant, positive effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy and support for the community. Findings also suggest that the place identity of tourism entrepreneurs has a positive, indirect effect on entrepreneurial performance: a tourism entrepreneur’s sense of identity with the place in which his/her business operates contributes toward entrepreneurial success.     

Monitoring and evaluation practices of volunteer tourism organisations

Monitoring and evaluation are tools that can facilitate sustainable and responsible tourism planning and management in organisations through encouraging good practice and the continuous improvement of programmes. However, to date, there is limited knowledge and understanding of how, or indeed if, volunteer tourism organisations actually monitor and evaluate their programmes. The aim of this paper is to identify and critically examine the extent to which volunteer tourism organisations engage with the monitoring and evaluation of their projects. Based on a survey of 80 organisations and qualitative interviews with representatives from 29 organisations, the research found that monitoring and evaluation practices vary greatly. Participants readily accept a lack of time and resources as barriers to monitoring an evaluation, there is an assumption that any volunteer-host community interaction is positive, and despite voluntary guidelines, there is little incentive to prioritise monitoring and evaluation of volunteer programmes. A small number of volunteer organisations emerged as an exception to this overall pattern and are discussed. Discrepancies between stated importance of monitoring and evaluation and actual practices are examined and opportunities for improved practices identified.     

The mining sector and indigenous tourism development in Weipa,Queensland

A relatively high proportion of Indigenous Australians live in remote areas where a number of mines are located. Indigenous Australians are more likely than their non-Indigenous counterparts to be unemployed and to be living below the poverty line and in order to overcome this disadvantage it is important for Indigenous people to gain meaningful employment. In these remote areas, in addition to mining, tourism is seen as potentially providing substantial opportunities for Indigenous employment. However many of these Indigenous tourism enterprises will need on-going support to become sustainable. Mining companies have significant resources and infrastructure that could be used to help develop Indigenous tourism and a number of companies, as part of their corporate social responsibility agenda, have directly facilitated the development of Indigenous tourism ventures. This study examined Indigenous involvement in tourism in the Weipa region of north-west Queensland and the role of the then Comalco bauxite mining operation, now called Rio Tinto Aluminium, in assisting this development. The study revealed substantial enthusiasm about market opportunities for Indigenous tourism and potential support from the Comalco mine. However the mine did not see itself as being directly involved but saw itself as a facilitator working with some regional Indigenous organisations. However given the constraints these other organisations face, this approach by Comalco is likely to limit the effectiveness of the mine's efforts.